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Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp rages at Joel Matip during Atalanta defeat
According to reports, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was enraged by the performance of defender Joel Matip during last night’s 2-0 defeat against Atalanta at Anfield in the Champions League.
Matip in Klopp’s bad books
The 29-year-old was the only established centre-back available at the German tactician’s disposal after the serious injuries to both Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez.
Matip lined up alongside Rhys Williams, who has very little experience at the highest level.
At one point during the first half, Klopp could be heard manically ranting at Matip in German, according to Matt Critchley. The journalist wasn’t sure of the translation, but it’s fair to say they weren’t nice words of encouragement from the boss.
Liverpool failed to register a shot on target (Fotmob) as Josip Ilicic and Robin Gosens scored the goals to condemn Klopp’s team to defeat, which prevented them from qualifying for the Last 16, at least for another week.
They must get a victory against either Ajax or FC Midtjylland during their final two matchdays if they want to advance to the next round of the competition.
Transfer Tavern Verdict
Klopp is a big fan of Matip, having described as an “incredible talent” at the beginning of last season (cited by the Evening Standard).
However, having lost three duels plus three aerial challenges (Fotmob), Klopp was well within his rights to be frustrated at his most experienced centre-back.
Liverpool’s injury crisis is not going to go away anytime soon. Having been linked with the likes of RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano and Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, Klopp must plead to the board to invest, in order to keep their Premier League title aspirations alive.
And in other news, Liverpool fans react jubilantly following official announcement.
